The impact of Hats

During the exhibition preparations for the ‘OpenMonumentendagen’ in September 2018 I had a special encounter. In the first instance via mail and later personally with contemporary artist Renée Koldewijn from Amsterdam. She explores non verbal communication via the Hat.

In the world of psychiatry, communication often takes place non verbally. People express themselves through gestures, facial expressions, pitch, volume of speech, sounds, body language, signs, drawings and more.

We offered Renée a large room to work in the ‘Huysmuseum’ in the run-up to the ‘Monumentenweekend’. A diverse group of 800 people came to visit the Huysmuseum; people from the neighbourhood, people interested in art, people who worked in the building in former days and people who stayed there for some time for therapy.

Renée’s interactive ideas fitted in perfectly to our last exhibition and brought to life our motto: “Encounters are the best way to overcome prejudices.”
She visualised her AIR-work in a wonderful book: ‘The impact of Hats’. (Wat doet een hoed met jou, met mij).